Want to reduce stress and have a great day, today and every day? Reducing stress starts with simple plans. It’s easy to set a positive and productive tone if you do (or avoid doing) some key things first thing in the morning. Start off by removing any excuses, and just add 1 of these to your morning routine. For the first week, make your bed each day. Then once that becomes second nature, add another item from this list.
1. Write something down — Did you have any good ideas or dreams while you were asleep? Get ’em down right away. Your relaxed, sleeping brain is open to ideas that you might not come up with while preoccupied with daytime activities so take advantage of any flashes of genius you have.
2. Think of something you’re grateful for/ excited about — There’s always something to look forward to. Start your morning thinking about something happy. Typically (especially on Mondays) we focus on something we dread (like that meeting with your boss). This creates negative neural pathways in the brain. So starting off the day with a happy thought creates positive neural pathways.
3. Leave your phone alone — Do yourself a favor and log at least 10 minutes of life sans screen time first thing in the morning. Start the day without your phone. When we sleep our parasympathetic nervous system does its work. However, in this modern world, our sympathetic nervous systems have become dominant. So spending the first 10 minutes, without electronics gives your body extra time to relax and start the day gently.
4. Drink a glass of lemon water — It never hurts to be hydrated so get a jump start on your daily water intake first thing. Lemon naturally detoxes the body and improves its alkaline state. I didn’t like the taste of lemon water, so I started by dipping 1/4 lemon wedge in hot water. Over time, I increased the amount of time the lemon stays in the water. After several months, I now squeeze the lemon into the water.
5. Stretch — Get your blood flowing with a little light stretching. When you wake up, stay in bed a moment, and stretch your arms overhead. Reach your toes to the end of the bed. Just simple movements to get your body moving in the morning.
6. Meditate — Start simply with 3 minutes of breathing. Or if you love morning showers, combine a simple visualization meditation in the shower. As the water flows over you, imagine it washing away stress. Imagine stress as thousands of tiny black knots. As the water washes over your body, image it removing those knots and see in your mind, that stress flowing down the drain.
7. Make the bed — It’s not only us, science says making your bed will make your whole day better. You are giving yourself a positive win from the get-go. It may seem too simple, but to your brain and subconscious, it’s a positive win; a sense of accomplishment. It also makes sense since an organization can positively impact our mental state.
